Warm temperatures and rainy weather find all those with grass to cut regularly out on their yard with the lawnmower.  That’s why it can feel frustrating when a neighbour or perhaps even the City letting their grass get too long.  Fortunately, you can report grass that has not been cut.  There are reasons though it might take a bit before a specific property gets addressed.

The City of Mississauga’s Property Standards Bylaw requires that residents keep their grass under eight inches or 20 centimetres. If a neighbour’s grass has gotten taller than that, you can report it by using the Tall Grass and Nuisance Weed online reporting tool linked below:

Alternatively, you can call 311 or email public.info@mississauga.ca.  If emailing, include the address of the property you are reporting and consider including one or more photographs as it helps speed the process.

While you are always welcome to reach out to your Councillor, you will get the quickest response via our online reporting tool. Contacting your Councillor is most effective if there has been any sort of issue or delay after using the main City feedback channels.

Imagine, in the middle of summer, that you have to cut the grass once every two weeks, but in the spring for a few weeks, you need to get the lawnmower out every weekend — no big deal. Now though, imagine you run the City’s grass-cutting operation. You have more than 500 parks to cut along with miles and miles of roadside grass.  Now, for discussion’s sake, let’s say you have 500 pieces of grass-cutting and trimming equipment along with 500 employees cutting grass full time for the season. Do you buy 500 more lawnmowers and weedeaters plus hire 500 more people just for the few weeks the grass grows extra fast?  What would you do if the weather in a particular year meant the fast-growth season came late or early, or storms kept your crews off the lawns?  You might decide, as the City has done that sometimes, the grass is just going to get a little longer.

Fortunately, we are able to repurpose staff to some degree.  Our roadside crews cut the grass approximately once every two weeks in April, May and June and only once every three weeks through July and August.  Our park crews cut the grass every 10 to 14 days. Of course, weather and ground conditions play affect both these schedules. Even with cutting the grass more frequently in the spring, the grass can get long.  Two weeks of growth though keeps us well under the 8″/20cm standard we apply to private properties.

Every spring, Councillors get calls and emails about grass on City property.  Typically, we don’t change where a City property sits on the to-do list with specific sites being scheduled for cutting within a day or two anyway. We’d love to take the credit, but our teams were already on it. The quickest way to get action though is to call 311 or email public.info@mississauga.ca.  If emailing, include the name and/or location of the City property you are concerned about, and a photograph can help speed the process.

We’ll keep working hard to maintain our parks and roadsides and we encourage you to cut the grass and remove the weeds on your property. Ensuring a beautiful city and attractive streets takes a mutual effort between our team and you.  Please join us.